


Labyrinth / Reader Insert - Little Bird

by writeyouin



Category: Labyrinth (1986)
Genre: Child-Reader, Cute, Family Fluff, Gen, Reader-Insert
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-20
Updated: 2019-02-20
Packaged: 2019-11-01 12:35:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,802
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17867387
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/writeyouin/pseuds/writeyouin
Summary: Request: You're Jareth's very small child learning how to use magic. It's your birthday & he surprises you with your first trip to the Aboveground, but your powers go haywire. You conjure snakes at rude people when mad, teleport randomly when excited to explore, & accidentally offer a dream-inducing peach to a hungry child. Jareth can barely keep up as he counteracts everything with his own magic. When you get home, you ask to play in the Escher room, but Jareth says playtime's over & takes you to bed.





	Labyrinth / Reader Insert - Little Bird

Jareth watched you amusedly as you transformed from your original fae form to a bluebird then a goblin and back. At six years old, you were progressing much faster in your magical talents that he’d anticipated. Of course, being his child, it was no surprise you were gifted, but Jareth was still impressed with your control; most fae didn’t show such progress until they were at least thirteen, but you were different. In front of Jareth’s very eyes, you vanished, reappearing above him and giggling mischievously. With expert hands used to such tricks, Jareth caught you, swinging you around gracefully.

“Another successful teleportation. My, my, you are showing off today, little bird,” Jareth said proudly, using the pet name he’d given you since the moment he first held you.

You giggled but didn’t say anything, toying with your father in a rendition of your favourite game.

“Goblin got your tongue?”

You stuck your tongue out and Jareth mirrored the gesture playfully.

“Very well, if it’s not that, did a zephyr steal your voice?”

“No silly,” You laughed happily, “it’s my birthday.”

“My, is it really? No, I’m sure that birthdays stop after five years. Are you telling me there’s another one for turning six?”

You nodded enthusiastically.

“Well, in that case, I suppose you’ll be wanting a gift?” With a practiced hand, Jareth summoned a coat made up entirely of pockets, donning it proudly. He reached into a small-looking pocket, putting you into a fit of near-hysterics when it engulfed his entire arm. “It’s in here somewhere, I’m sure.”

He pulled out a handful of live snakes, dropping them carelessly on the floor where they quickly slithered away. You squealed elatedly, clapping small, pudgy hands.

“Oops, wrong pocket, hmm, what about this one?” He reached into another, pulling out a Firey’s eyeball. The eye turned around in Jareth’s fingers to look at you before jumping out of his hand and rolling out of the open door. In his game, Jareth emptied countless pockets, entertaining you with all manner of tricks, ranging from trained tapdancing fairies, which were removed before they could bite you, to your very own portal to the Escher room which you would be allowed to play in later.

Finally, Jareth kneeled down in front of you, taking on a serious yet loving air. “My darling little bird, I have saved the best for last.”

You bounced on the balls of your feet, scrunching your hands into excited fists. “What is it, daddy?”

“For you, I would gift the entire moon and stars, even this entire kingdom, though that will have to wait till you are millenniums older. For today, little bird, the best I can give you,” He summoned a viewing crystal, rolling it fluidly over his hand, “is a trip to the Aboveground.”

He floated the crystal over to you and you held onto it tightly, staring into it at one of the Aboveground’s small villages with eyes that wanted everything they saw.

Instantly, the room around you was filled with swirling glittery powder, as you transformed your outfit into something similar to the first person you saw in the crystal. Jareth grinned at your disguise of jeans, a shirt with sparrows on it, and dark trainers with wings built into the sides that were so fine they could rival those of the arrogant fae Hermes who’d pretended to be a God all those centuries ago.

“Such flair you have, little bird,” Jareth said, transforming his own outfit into dark green dress trousers with a white shirt and a waistcoat embroidered with green vines. Overall, it was about as understated an outfit as Jareth could bare to have; how he missed the old Victorian era of fashion with its intricate outfits and colourful ways.

“I expect you’ll behave, young one,” Jareth warned. “No magic in front of the humans, am I clear?”

“Yes. Let’s go, go, go!”

Jareth drew on his much stronger magic to teleport the two of you to the human village from the crystal. It was somewhere quiet and reasonably small, perfect for a first trip to the Aboveground. Once there, on the outskirts, hidden under the long curtains of a weeping willow, Jareth reached for your hand, but it was too late. In all your excitement you had teleported, finding yourself on the steeple of a church that overlooked the entire village.

While you took in the sights below, Jareth cursed in the ancient language, mildly displeased with your disappearing act, but not mad; after all, had he not done the exact same thing when his mother had brought him to the very same village, though she had waited till he was thirteen.

He followed your magic signature, prepared to reprimand you but by the time he reached the steeple, you were already gone again. He tried to trace your location which should have been a simple task, but evidently you were pushing your boundaries and teleporting every which way. He rolled his eyes in a ‘ _kids will be kids manner_ ’, coming to the conclusion you were randomly teleporting from one spot to the another; that was something he hadn’t done, one teleport had been enough for him at thirteen.

He paused, opting to wait till you exhausted yourself, which was bound to happen eventually. Then the screaming began.

Jareth transformed into an owl, flying to the source in case he teleported in front of a hapless human. The screaming was coming from a young boy, not much older than you, as he was constricted by a large python. You were in front of him, stomping your feet angrily.

“Say sorry,” You shrieked in a tantrum.

From the boy’s purple face and rolling eyes, it was clear he couldn’t say anything; even the screaming had stopped. Ignoring any previous rules, Jareth transformed back to normal, using a complicated time reversal spell to fix the situation and save the boy’s life, whilst also removing any memory of the altercation.

“(Y/N)!” Jareth said sternly. “The humans aren’t like us, you could have killed him and-”

“He was rude!” You pouted.

“All humans are rude… Come now little bird, I think it’s time I explained a few things. This realm can exhaust our magic and we-”

You quickly grew bored of the lecture. If your father didn’t understand that you were only acting in a manner befitting royalty, then you didn’t want to hear it. Sensing a pull of magic, Jareth pointed at you commandingly, “No! Don’t even think about it, young-”

You vanished, leaving Jareth irked as he tracked you again. He now knew that he couldn’t wait for you to tire yourself out anymore; the time reversal had left him exhausted and he needed to use his reserve magic sparingly so the two of you could get back home to the Underground.

Silently, he sent an apology to his long-deceased mother in case he’d ever been as much trouble at a young age, then he felt you stop. He gritted his teeth as he felt yet another, _much_ stronger pull of magic; whatever you were playing at was bound to be conspicuous. Wasting no time, he teleported to you, finding you stood with another child; a little girl with oversized clothes that accentuated her skinny limbs. Everything about her spoke of malnourishment, and maybe that was why she reached so eagerly for the dream-inducing peach you offered her.

Jareth snatched the peach from your hand, sending it back to the Underground and wondering all the while how you had managed to cast such a complex spell; you shouldn’t have been able to do magic like that till you were at least two hundred, which was still considered a juvenile age for the fae. Jareth never thought it possible that one so young would be able to do such a thing. He seriously considered whether or not he should craft some magic dampeners to temporarily limit your abilities once the two of you were back home, but that was a thought for another time; for now, all he had to do was get you back. He glanced almost boredly at the hungry child, disregarding her completely in favour of you.

“(Y/N), please,” Jareth grabbed your wrist tightly so you couldn’t go anywhere, “tell me what you think you’re doing.”

“She’s hungry daddy.”

“That is not a matter that concerns us. You know very well that peaches are…” He chose his words carefully, knowing the impact one human child could have once grown up, “bad for one’s digestion.”

“Please daddy… She really is hungry… Just one bite daddy, please.”

Jareth shook his head at your pleading tone, and reached into the back pocket of his trousers, summoning a wallet so he could hand the child some money. What currency were humans using these days? Jareth had long since forgotten, but he imagined gold was still valuable to the greedy race.  Carelessly, he handed the child a fistful of solid gold doubloons, which she stared at with wide eyes, too stunned to say anything.

“Take that home to your family for food. Go,” Jareth barked. “And tell them nothing of us, or I assure you, I will bring back that peach.”

Although the girl had no idea what he meant with that last remark, she did at told, bunching up the doubloons in her jumper to stop any from escaping.

“Yay,” You cheered, “now everyone will eat.”

Jareth sighed, knowing he couldn’t find it in himself to berate you, his one and only heir. He tugged your hand gently, “Come now little bird, it is time we returned home.”

“Okay daddy,” You beamed. “Can I play in the Escher room?”

“No, my darling, when we get home it’s straight to bed. It’s been a long day… and I have a story to tell you.”

“Is it about Sir Didymus again?”

“Not tonight little bird...” Jareth looked pensive. He was thinking about your powers, considering for the first time that you might be stronger than any fae ever born for one simple reason. “Tonight, I would like to tell you the story of your mother because she was born right here in this village… She was from the Aboveground.”

You smiled simply, not feeling the weight of your father’s words at such a young age. You’d never met your mother; as far as you were concerned, you didn’t really know what a mother was. “That sounds fun, does it have a happy ending?”

Jareth felt the familiar pang of despair that hadn’t waned over the years. He would indeed tell you the story of your mother, but not the entire thing. Bound by fae law, he couldn’t lie, but so long as he gave the story a different ending it wasn’t a lie when he answered. “Yes.”


End file.
